Plant Type

Shrub

 

Height Range

6-12'

 

Flower Color

Red

 

Flower Season

Spring

 

Leaf Color

Dark Green

 

Bark Color

Brown, Grey

 

Fruit Color

Brown

 

Fruit Season

Summer, Fall, Persistent

Sun

Full, Half

 

Water

Medium, Extra in Summer

 

Growth Rate

Moderate

 

Soil Type

Clay, Loam

 

Soil Condition

Average, Rich, Poor, Well-drained

 

Soil pH

Acid, Neutral, Basic

 

Adverse Factors

n/a

Design Styles

English Cottage, Formal, Ranch, Woodland

 

Accenting Features

Fall Color, Fragrance, Showy Flowers

 

Seasonal Interest

Spring, Summer, Fall

 

Location Uses

Background, Shrub Border, Foundation, Patio, Walls / Fences

 

Special Uses

Cut Flowers, Hedge, Screen, Naturalizing

 

Attracts Wildlife

n/a

Carolina allspice is a dense, rounded deciduous shrub with a suckering habit which grows 6 to 9 feet tall with an equal or slightly greater spread. Very fragrant, brown to reddish-brown flowers (2" across) bloom at the ends of short branchlets in May. Flowers give way to brownish, urn-shaped fruits (seed capsules) which mature in fall and persist throughout the winter. Lustrous leaves are dark green above, paler beneath, oval to elliptic, and turn golden yellow in fall. Leaves are aromatic when bruised. Best to purchase this plant when in flower because the quality and intensity of the fragrance can vary widely from plant to plant.

Grow in well-drained soil in full sun to part shade. Grows somewhat taller in shade than in sun. Tolerant of a wide range of soils, but prefers rich loams. Prune immediately after flowering to shape or maintain compactness. Tends to sucker and often forms colonies in the wild; remove root suckers promptly if spreading isnot desired.